The Rise of Sabbac
by scarletebony
Summary: When the deadly hell demon Sabbac returns, harnessing the powers of the seven sins, the newly assembled Titans have to bring him down at all costs.
1. I

**I**

California, U.S.A. The state is home to dozens of people, not to mention the most famous landmarks. The stars shine as brightly on land as they do in the sky. The Walk of Fame, Sunshine Boulevard, Beverly Hills… And if one were to head to the very edge of the state, they would enter the reclusive but world-renowned Jump City, home of the Titans.

On this early evening in the midst of June, the grey steel-and-glass-constructed Titans Tower stood in all its glory just a few miles offshore of the city. It is the year 2015. The Tower had been built nearly ten years ago by one of the world's best architects, who was now dead, and the Tower is now home to a band of superheroes, dedicated to protecting their city from the evil that lingered over it. But that comes later.

Boasting over thirty-five bedrooms, state-of-the-art security systems, a headed indoor pool and a fully simulated Pressure Chamber, Titans Tower was the only one of its kind. Over the years, though, it had housed dozens of heroes, all of which have either moved on or died – sacrifice was inevitable in their line of work, unfortunately. The Tower also boasted a garden, one that was free for all viewing pleasure but off touching limits to those not their rightful owner. The garden was unlike others, however, for it was home to at least twelve different species of Tamaranean plants, saved before the majestic planet was obliterated.

Tamaran… Its people were strong, and their way of life was well-respected all throughout the galaxy. The only survivor now, though, is the Princess Koriand'r, or Kory, as she is more affectionately called. She was beautiful, without a doubt, with long, thick auburn hair and eyes that resembled emeralds. But she was equally fierce; she harnessed the power of the sun, and just one of her mesmerizing green starbolts would annihilate anything in its path. She was a warrior not to be messed with.

The plants in the garden were entirely hers, and she cared for them with a passion. They were the only things left of her home planet now. Massive bright, multi-coloured flowers adorned the thick branches of the Tamaranean specimens, and they bloomed fully all year round. The redheaded alien floated – yes, floated – through the garden that evening, casting her gaze over the exotic flowers she had spent most of her time on.

"They're very beautiful."

Kory couldn't help but curve her full lips into a soft smile. "I know."

Kory was not as well acquainted with Garth as her other teammates were, but she nonetheless loved him as a brother. He had been one of the founding members of the Titans, and was now a fully-fledged and prized member of the team's current reincarnation. The fan girls, when not falling for the Titans' leader, were usually marveling over Garth's deep purple eyes. Garth had a head of wavy, dark hair, and his body was perfectly toned from his countless hours spent in the water. In fact, Garth was a descendant from the city of Atlantis. He was one of the few who had survived, and had developed the ability to breathe underwater, among other aquatic and mage-like abilities.

He was dripping wet now as he made his way towards Kory, having just emerged from the sea, his very own playground. He ran a hand down over his face in an effort to dry off. Kory noticed he was only wearing his jeans. She glanced downward, where her gaze lingered for a moment.

"Tamaranean plants are extremely intolerant to saltwater," she said bluntly.

"Oops. My bad. Sorry," Garth muttered his apology and quickly took a few steps backward. He hadn't even noticed he had been dripping water on one of the plants' massive roots. The Atlantean ruffled a hand through his drenched hair, a habit of his. "You do know about--?"

"I do know."

"Man… I'd hate being a mentor. I mean, it's too fast. It's way too fast."

"You do not have a choice, Garth."

"Yeah… I know."

There was a deathly silence for a few moments. By the time Kory turned from her plants, the boy had long gone, exhausted by the day's events. Tomorrow would be much more draining, Kory knew. And to be honest, she did agree with Garth. She would hate becoming a mentor. The idea just wasn't something she could digest easily. Maybe for Victor, it would be fine. He liked kids. But…

"H'tal b'ktr."

Muttering curses in her native tongue, Kory finally turned away from her beloved garden and headed back to the tower.


	2. II

**II**

The beeping never seemed to stop. That single red dot, flashing incessantly on the grid screen, was driving Dick crazy. The Common Room was the most utilized room in all of Titans Tower. Not only was it a kitchen, dining room and living room combined into one, it was also the Titans' base of operations. The massive screen in the front of the room served as both a television and a super computer. Right now a digital grid map of the world was spread across the screen, and a red blinking dot was situated right above Bludhaven. It was a call, a call for help.

Dick's icy blue eyes stared at the red dot, his gaze unfaltering. He couldn't leave the city. Not now. He had… business to settle. Besides, the _kids_ were arriving the next morning. It had been Bruce's idea. Yes, Bruce Wayne, founder of Wayne Industries and the multi-millionaire by day, Batman by night. Dick still lived in his shadow, despite his numerous efforts to shake off that identity. He would always be known as the first Robin, and people would remember Robin as the sidekick. The little kid who fought alongside Batman, in the red and green tights. No, it was never 'Robin and Batman'. It would always, and forever, be 'Batman and Robin'. He was the other. But Dick had adopted the alias of Nightwing now, his Robin suit long abandoned. The black and blue wings were his trademark now as he watched over his beloved city, high above the rooftops.

Those who knew Dick, or Richard, well would describe him as 'serious' and 'single-minded'. He was known for many other things as well, though. He was the leader of the Titans, and was good-looking and handsome, with smooth dark hair that swept down over his eyes and a well-muscled body to watch. He was skilled in every form of martial arts, and had an expertise in Escrima, a class of combat that emphasized sword and stick fighting. He charmed many, a list of whom included Mirage, Batgirl, Huntress, and… Starfire.

Kory. The gorgeous redheaded alien princess who always seemed to have a hypnotizing power over him. They had dated more than once, and had agreed on being 'just friends' more than once too. But still… Dick buried his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Ah… Can't stop thinking about her."

"Thinking about who?"

Startled, Dick glanced up from the screen to meet the gaze of Antonia. The Italian-American had just strolled into the hall, surprisingly quiet, and now wore a wry grin across her rose-pink lips as she approached him. Antonia was considered the newest member of the team. She had joined the Titans late, having been more of a rebel back when she was younger. Naturally, when she received her powers and was invited to join the Titans, she had refused to accept her new life. Being initiated into the team was probably the best thing to happen to her though. Anybody who had known her back in the day would agree that she had matured immensely after joining the Titans.

Antonia was born into a wealthy family, and had been spoilt from young. Being of a mixed descent, she had long, ebony locks that cascaded down her shoulders, and a face of sharp features that could turn heads. Of course, her beauty couldn't match up to Kory's, but she made up for it with her intelligence. Having graduated from college when she was just sixteen, she was without a doubt the most intellectual of the team. She also wielded control over plasma energy, from which she could form any weapon or construct she wished that would instantly become tangible. Oh, and flight, too.

"Sorry, what?" Dick asked, clearly not paying attention. His hand shifted to the control panel before him, where he pushed a button. The graphics across the screen immediately disappeared.

Antonia came up behind him and slipped her arms down over his shoulders so she could link her hands over his perfectly chiseled chest. He could smell the scent of lilacs off her dark hair from this distance, and knew clearly well that if any of the other Titans – especially Kory – entered the room, they'd flip. He wasn't complaining though. And he certainly wasn't budging.

"You need to stop working so hard… Take a break. Have some fun," Antonia whispered past his ear. Being the daring girl she was, she planted a soft kiss on her leader's neck. Antonia was Garth's girlfriend, and they both knew that perfectly well. Sighing deeply, Dick reached up to remove her hands from around his shoulders, and stood from his seat. She wasn't usually like this, and the two were definitely not having some tempestuous love affair. She must have been bored, Dick guessed.

"Better turn in early. Big day tomorrow," he muttered, exiting the room. Even if Kory were to throw herself at him right now, he wouldn't have the mood for it. Antonia watched him leave the Common Room. Once he was out of sight, she reached over to the control panel and pushed in a few coordinates. Again, the same map Dick had been studying earlier flashed up onto the screen, except now, instead of one red flashing dot, there were two. Antonia's hazel-grey eyes watched the screen carefully. She then pushed another button, and the room was thrown into darkness once again.


	3. III

**III**

The sun rose the same way it did every morning, but it would rise over a whole different world each day. Today was particularly special. If anybody were to stand at the dock early that morning, they would see dozens of teenagers entering what seemed to be a guardhouse. Venturing further though, one would find a back door that led down a flight of stairs. A hand scanner would be present on the wall, and as the teenagers pressed their hands against the scanner one by one, a digital voice announced the confirmation of their identities and their permission to access Titans Tower. A mechanical door would slide open to reveal a small pod-like underwater jet, complete with all-around windows and cushioned seats. The jet would be especially busy today, ferrying teenagers through the waters over to Titans Tower, where another passageway would lead them up to the Tower's main entrance.

It was there Antonia and Garth would be waiting, both dressed in civilian outfits. Life was extremely casual at the Tower, though it was a terrible rush when it came to getting prepared for combat. The couple was seated on a bench by the little stream that ran through Kory's garden, talking and laughing to themselves. They had been together for quite some time now, and unlike Richard and Kory, their relationship was actually functional. Garth had a hand through strands of Antonia's dark hair as the final teenagers arrived.

"Welcome to Titans Tower," Antonia greeted them, standing from her seat. "My name is Antonia. This is Garth." She watched every single one of the new recruits intently, studying their every behavior, every mannerism. Well, they weren't recruited… yet.

The group consisted of three teenaged superheroes, though there were many others who had already arrived. The two males seemed terribly awkward, completely unsure of what was going to happen next, while the tall, blonde girl stood grinning at Garth and Antonia.

As the teenagers were led up to the front door, the girl rushed to Antonia's side, overwhelmed by excitement. "My name is Cassie!" she introduced herself, "You cannot comprehend how happy I am to be here. I've heard so much about you!"

Antonia merely shot her a small smile as she held the door open for the three. "It'll be best to save that energy for later… You'll need it," she said. Without another word, she and Garth led the speechless trio down the lobby's long hallway, finally coming to a stop at the end of it, where an elevator had been installed. They allowed the teenagers to enter before they did. Following which, Garth pushed the button for the tenth floor, and the elevator chugged upwards.

"You kids were late," Garth pointed out, glancing at them from the corner of his violet eyes. A stream of excuses followed immediately. One of the boys muttered something about having no clean underwear.

The elevator doors finally slid open, and the teenagers were brought down another hallway before they entered the Common Room. Nearly thirty others had already arrived, and they stopped chattering for a moment to turn to the newcomers. The two males remained silent, while Cassie waved heartily. Dick and Kory were already there at the front of the room. As usual, they kept their distance, much unlike Garth and Antonia. Once everybody had settled down, Dick began the orientation.

Most of the teenagers listened intently, though there were a few who couldn't stop fidgeting during Dick's hour-long briefing. He had started with the introduction of the members of the Titans, and then explained what the requirements of being a Titan were. The tension could be felt in the room when Dick explained the need for sacrifice when the time came. Needless to say, the number of teenagers lessened slightly when they were given the opportunity to back out. Kory then spoke about the audition, and the training process. Every single one of them would be assessed by how well they used their powers, as well as how good they fared in the following categories: flight, fight, weaponry, cybernetics and aquatics. The teenagers were finally dismissed after being assigned their rooms, and their audition schedules.

When the room finally cleared out, Dick let out a long, heavy sigh as he was joined the front by Garth, Antonia and Kory.

"I hate Bruce sometimes," Dick muttered.

Kory disagreed, being her ever-optimistic self. She mentioned something about the children being a new source of hope for the world. Antonia, meanwhile, had eased herself up onto the window platform, swinging her shapely legs down over the edge.

"How's Victor?" Garth asked.

"He's… He's getting better." Dick replied, though he wasn't ever sure of the answer himself. Their robotic friend had been shut down for about a month now, ever since that battle they had in New York City. Mammoth, the huge Hive Five member with the super strength, had ripped – yes, ripped – Victor's wires out from his chest. If he hadn't been half-robot, Victor wouldn't have survived at all. Mammoth was defeated and sent to a holding facility, while the Titans had to jet Victor to the nearest S.T.A.R Labs. The doctors were able to successfully rewire him, but the Titans were told that the reprogramming was entirely up to Victor. And so he had been down for weeks, connected to millions of wires up in his room as he silently reprogrammed himself. Until the process was complete, he could not waken.

"This discussion is over," Dick said, exiting the Common Room without another word. There were still auditions to be carried out, evaluation to be done.

Antonia frowned slightly after their leader. "Were we having a discussion…?" she questioned in bewilderment. She was answered with silence.


	4. IV

**IV**

Later that afternoon, once everybody had finished lunch, the teenagers fell into their different groups, and were sent to separate rooms for the audition. Out of the thirty three super-powered youngsters, only the very best would be chosen to join the Titans. The selection process was that tough. They did have an advantage, though. With Victor still recovering, they would not be evaluated on their knowledge of cybernetics.

Kory occupied the roof. She would be taking all the heroes who were capable of flight first. There were about nine. The rest would be using the Titans' miniature individual jets. One boy was auditioned first. He was tall, dark and handsome, and other female heroes were obviously smitten with him. The moment he took to the air, Kory hurled a couple of massive boulders toward him. The alien princess had super strength; another impressive feature to add to the list. The boy handled the obstacles fine, weaving through them effortlessly. But when Kory shot one of her powerful starbolts at him, he panicked and was shot down. Kory dove over the side of the roof and returned within seconds, clutching him by his sweater.

"My flight pattern was disrupted, I swear! It wasn't fair!" the boy wailed in protest. He was ignored as he was dropped back down onto the roof. Mumbling something under her breath, Kory entered something into the PDA in her hand. Dick had given them out earlier; they doubled as score-takers, and had features that included each candidate's personal statistics, as well as an interconnected system that linked all PDA frequencies. That meant that whenever a score was taken down in one PDA, the other PDA's would be automatically updated. Despite Kory's usually optimistic beliefs, she was certain it was going to be a long day.

Garth was having better luck down by the coast. He had been disappointed that none of the teenagers had natural aquatic abilities like him, and that they had to make use of the water jets. His spirits were lifted though, when he realized how gifted they were with the pods. The Titans owned little individual aquatic jets that were miniature versions of their T-Jet, without the flight function. Each pod was voice-activated, and also featured multiple weapon choices, from short-ranged to far-ranged. The teenagers operated the jets two at a time, and Garth watched over them while in the water. The kids were exceptionally fast in mastering the pod's controls, veering efficiently through the water and hitting almost every target in the bull's eye. Garth continuously tapped in high scores for each name on the PDA as he sat by the shore. That is, until someone crashed a pod into the reef.

One of Antonia's favourite functions of the Tower's Pressure Room was that it featured a simulated shooting arena. Every obstacle and every opponent was computer-generated, and every hit and miss made by the shooter was automatically recorded by a digital score taker. Antonia stood by the machine and watched as Gabriel, a particularly cocky boy, entered the shooting field with his gun. She pushed a button on her PDA, which started the timer on the score taker. The number of hits and misses continued to increase as Gabriel shot at his simulated opponents. Suddenly, he jerked violently, and his knees buckled below him. Apparently the system sent a series of electric jolts through his body when he got shot by one of his simulated opponents.

"You okay?" Antonia asked, her brows raised in concern.

Gabriel shot his trainer a smug grin while he scrambled to his feet, flexing his muscled suggestively as he made his way over to her. "I'm always okay when you're around, sexy."

Antonia brows creased into a disgusted frown, and she tapped her PDA, setting off the simulation timer again. Gabriel swore out loud as he quickly dove back into the arena, not wanting to get shot, and left the other teenagers in fits of laughter.

Unlike Antonia's batch, Dick's had his arms crossed as he watched the youngsters participate in hand-to-hand combat. He was not at all distracted by the bursts of laughter originating from Antonia's group across the hall, or his own group's longing glances toward them. He occasionally threw in stern instructions to the sparring teenagers, like "Steady your feet!" and "Tighten that grip!" He would later be known amongst the teenagers, who shared stories of their auditions, as the strictest and most obstinate mentor among the four. Not that Dick cared. He was more absorbed in his training than anything else. He didn't care if he would become the most detested trainer; as long as the kids reached their maximum potential, he was satisfied. As they fought before him now, he furiously typed away in his PDA, occasionally tapping into the frequencies of the other scores taken by his teammates to check on how they were faring.

The rest of the afternoon went on with the teenagers switching between stations. Antonia had been right to say that they would need all their energy for the auditions, for there were no breaks in between stations at all. Training, as the chosen teenagers would learn, would be equally as grueling, if not more. When the auditions finally come to an end, everybody was worn out. After dinner, the teenagers all retreated to their respective rooms to rest, while the four Titans assembled in the Common Room.

"Damage reports, anyone?" Dick asked as he settled down on the couch.

"Uh, yeah," Garth winced as he raised a hand. "Two aqua jets were crashed, and I think I suffered a concussion."

Dick ignored Garth's latter remark as he scribbled something down into his PDA with a stylus pen. His spidery words were immediately transformed into proper fonts.

While Kory kept her distance from Dick, Antonia had snuggled up to Garth, who happily put an arm around her. "At least none of the kids were hitting on you," she muttered.

Kory tapped a few coordinates into their super computer, and the pictures of all the teenaged superheroes immediately flashed up onto the screen. "I vote to initiate her," Kory said, pointing up at the blonde girl by the edge of the screen.

"Cassie?" Antonia exclaimed in shock. The girl had been getting on her nerves ever since she got here. During Cassie's session with her, the teenaged superhero wouldn't stop pestering her about her private life. "Please, no. She could barely handle a gun."

"She doesn't require a gun, what with her powers. And she excelled in all the other categories, especially hand-to-hand combat," Kory pointed out.

Antonia was still persistent about not giving Cassie the invitation, but Kory had a worse temper. It didn't take long before she got pissed. The males listened silently as the two girls debated over that overly enthusiastic blonde girl, but Dick had to intervene when the discussion got a little too heated. Kory was almost on the verge of shooting Antonia with a starbolt. Cassie was eventually put on the waiting list, pacifying both females.

The selection process went on like that for the rest of the night, with plenty of arguments occurring between either Dick and Kory or Kory and Antonia. Garth chose to stay out of their affairs. He was definitely the calmest out of the four, preferring to watch fights from the sidelines rather than be a part of them. He could even be called a mediator, stepping in to calm things down when they got a little too out of hand. Today was slightly different though. He was just too tired to care. As soon as their choices were made, he headed back to his quarters, hoping to get some sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Some of you may mistake Cassie for Cassandra Sandsmark, Wonder Girl. Please take note that Cassie is NOT Wonder Girl. She is an original character, as are the rest of the teenaged recruits. Thank you for reading and supporting. Much love to all readers and reviewers. (:


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